Other Music New Release Update
April 18, 2001


In This Week's Update:

Destroyer
"Clicks + Cuts 2" comp.
Danielson Famile
Reiko Kudo (of Maher Shalal Hash Baz)
OOIOO "Feather Float" (now domestic)
Troublemakers
"Superfunk 2" comp.
Unwound
"All Tomorrow's Parties" comp.
Baltic Whisperings (Magic Carpathians)
"Wizzz": French '60s rock comp.
Ryoji Ikeda + Carsten Nicolai
Phonophani
Tore Elgaroy
Butchies
Califone
Strokes single
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
"House of Distraction": Schematic records comp.
"Braindance Coincidence": Rephlex comp.
Of Montreal
"Beatmania EP: The Sound of Tokyo"
"Barbara Bui Cafe" comp.

Restocks:
Gorillaz
Bomb the Bass/Lali Puna collaboration


This Week:

DESTROYER "Streethawk: A Seduction" (Misra) CD $11.99
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It's a crying shame that Daniel Bejar is probably more well known
for his brief stint as a shadowy member of the Canadian indie-
rock "supergroup" New Pornographers than for his own superior pop
project, Destroyer. Bejar made his exit from the Pornographers
just as that band rocketed to unexpected indie stardom and
acclaim. Maybe he sensed that the sugar-high of "Mass
Romantic" was destined to fade and that he should concentrate
his efforts on something more substantial. The provocatively-
titled "Streethawk: A Seduction" is just that. It's Destroyer's
fourth album and the second -- following last year's brilliant but
under-appreciated opus "Thief" -- that can be considered truly
great. On "Streethawk," Bejar's lyrical references have moved
from merely oblique to nearly inscrutable while his singing is as
delightfully eccentric as ever. Witness the cryptic couplets of 'The
Sublimation Hour' where Bejar -- in his nasal and affected accent
-- stretches the word "right" to about seven syllables while Jason
Zumpano prods the melody along on piano, only to pound it home
at the chorus amidst a crash of electric guitars. On 'The Bad Arts'
he warns "Thou shalt not take part in or make bad art" -- one of
just a few instances where the listener is able to glean any kind
of lyrical intent. Instead Bejar only hints at meaning while seeming
to revel in his band's decidedly outsider status. You get the feeling
all along that you might discover something quite profound beneath
this wordplay if only you could decipher the code. Musically the
band complements Bejar's vision wonderfully throughout (like
on the aching and stately 'Strike') -- their slightly baroque
accompaniment (especially the ornate piano lines and glam-rocky
guitars) always keeping the songs interesting without getting
ridiculous. Inspired. Unusual. Thoroughly original. I dare say
genius. It may be an acquired taste, but Destroyer's
"Streethawk: A Seduction" is one of the most satisfying rock
records you're likely to hear this year. [TC]
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[V/A] "Clicks + Cuts 2" (Mille Plateaux, Germany) 3xCD $19.99
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Mille Plateaux label owner Achim Szepanski is eternally obsessed
with the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. The name of the label
is the name of one of Deleuze and psychoanalyst Felix Guattari's
most well-known texts. Deleuze took seriously ideas that the
social and private spheres are constituted by rhizomes, roots, and
routes, drawing on botanic metaphors to understand social actions
and relationships. Szepanski wanted the label's music to reflect
those themes. He's done so admirably, and created a couple of new
musical genres in the process. The first "Clicks + Cuts" compilation
brought together what had come to be known as: glitch,
microwave, sinecore, DSP sound et al. Meanwhile, the artists were
moving on. The second volume is far less severe and minimal than
its predecessor, and, in fact, makes a nod towards the commercial
sphere (in a relative sense) by including artists such Antonelli
Electr. and his warm, hooky tech-house that kicks like a newborn
infant, and Swayzak, whose tracks have appeared on innumerable
famous international DJ compilations. But it would be wrong to
think of this as sacrifice to commerce. Szepanski simply wanted to
chart a disparate movement. Thus, the serious sinewave enthusiasts
among you will find terrific, previously unreleased tracks by DAT
Politics, Taylor Deupree, Richard Chartier, Christian Fennesz, and
Pansonic. The first volume was a state-of-the-art manifesto for
experimental electronics. "Clicks & Cuts 2" now occupies that
space. [TH]
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DANIELSON FAMILE "Fetch the Compass Kids" (Secretly Canadian) CD/LP $12.99/$10.99
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"Fetch the Compass Kids" was recorded by Steve Albini, who's a fan
of this extended family from southern New Jersey who are now on
their fifth album. He applies some reverb to the proceedings, as
if the whole thing was recorded in an empty kindergarten
classroom, sounds bouncing off low tables. Oldest brother Daniel
is still singing in the upper registers (as if from the sixth
floor, closer to heaven?), and the general feel of "Fetch the
Compass" is a step back from the lush masses of sound they
gathered for the "Tri-Danielson" saga. In fact, each song contains
two or three lilting, bobbing melodies like Bob Dorough
compositions (the guy who did "Schoolhouse Rock") flowing
into/over each other, as the Hypercard version of their own work.
This interaction reduces the melodies to dashed or dotted lines
connecting players: the songs march along in a blocky way. There
are still plenty of messages taking shelter in multiple metaphors:
slowing down today's breakneck pace of living; what children face
growing up (of particular interest to the Famile as two of them
have new babies in their own families); living beyond a media-
saturated world. Stylistically, they're not burrowing laterally in
their garden of sounds (bells, claps, keyboards, steady beats),
they're delving deeper right where they are. Possibly the most
creative, centered group around -- their music the opposite,
wonderfully rickety. [RE]
CD //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=65660500452&refer_url=email
LP //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=09999153521&refer_url=email

REIKO KUDO "Rice Field Silently Riping In The Night (Majikick/Periodic Document, Japan)  CD  $13.99
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A short, sweet album of lilting beauty and disarming fragility;
imagine the spirit of Nick Drake benevolently haunting Young
Marble Giants. Essentially, Maher Shalal Hash Baz in everything
but name, but from the feminine perspective of the very talented
Reiko, wife of M.S.H.B. leader Tori Kudo. "There are times when
all the music your bruised psyche can take is the softest of
whispers, the slightest of instrumental caresses. When an ounce
too much pressure could make your veins cave inwards? 'Rice
Field...' sees Reiko (establishing a) pattern of short songs
mostly based around one-finger piano motifs, so structurally
simple as to be virtually transparent. This time additional
flashes of sensitive instrumental colour are added by husband Tori
and various members of the Puka-Puka Brians on wavering backing
vocals, violin, guitar, euphonium and percussion. The music treads
a sure and private path between a perfect childlike naivete and
the amateur aesthetic that has long been Tori's goal. Reiko's
songs and vocals are the weakly pulsing centrepoint though. She
sings of life, dying flowers, love, and nursing home residents
with the unforced naturalness of a mother alone with her child, a
bird in the forest, her pellucid melodies seemingly accidental. It
is nothing short of heart-stoppingly gorgeous. And as an honest-to-
god example of happiness glimpsed through the quotidian, artistic
perfection all the more perfect for not being striven for, you
couldn't wish for anything more. A perfect prescription for those
moments of fragility when you doubt your own pulse." -Alan
Cummings. Can't wait to play this for my baby daughter! [JG]
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OOIOO "Feather Float" (Birdman) CD $12.99
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OOIOO is the solo/group project led by Yoshimi (P-we) from the
Boredoms and Free Kitten, and this album is her most repetitive
to date -- which is not a bad thing. Sort of a nonsensical
Stereolab, only that you can tell that actual bodies, rather than
machines, are making the music (even Laetitia Sadier sounds
like a robot sometimes!). Lots of handclaps and unsettled
drums, Yoshimi nearly growls in her singing, and there's not a
lot of melody, but there is a lot of pattern, and it's still really
pretty. Other songs are reminiscent of a more psychedelic
Varttina's overlapping and chirpy vocal chants, only with scads
of electronics, sine-wave guitars, and bird imitations. Clever
"Lisa Frank"-style graphics that would appeal to any
six-year-old girl-rainbows, hearts, birds-but lower-tech and
surreal. Please note that this is a domestic issue of OOIOO's
second album originally released in 1999. Their latest LP, "Gold
and Green" (from late 2000) is also available, but only as a
Japanese import. [RE]
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TROUBLEMAKERS "Doubts & Convictions" (Guidance) CD/LP $15.99/$16.99
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The Troublemakers are three DJs: Oil, Fred Berthet and Arnaud
Taillefer, each with their own area of expertise. With a love of
electro, downtempo drum and bass, hip-hop, and celluloid, the
funky crate-digging trio has no problem keeping up with the DJ
Shadows of the world. "Doubts & Convictions" utilizes elements of
electro-acoustic samples like Tommy Guerrero via cathode, hip-hop
in the mix-it-up, chop-it-up style of Ninja Tune and filmic
samples: they make swiping quotes from Blaxploitation movies a
better idea than Bollywood. Ah, oui, but the true Francophilia is
coaxed out on 'Get Misunderstood'. It begins with a lightning fast
discourse, and eases the tension with a Carl Craig-like take on a
Godard film: lilting strings, slow, sexy and deliberate bass with
a soulful vocal 'my man got a heart like a rock...' Other tracks
hint at the groovy disco of Alex Gopher (who mixed the album at
Translab Paris), echoing thwacks of the dancefloor and a light-
stepping flute. All loops are cool, laid-back rhythms a la
Compost, however, rings of loungy breakbeats, underlying
experimental sounds, and poetically edited bits of a good movie
replaying in your mind. "Doubts" is eclectic, but still
structured; a well-done homage to its influences. [LG]
CD //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=63465106022&refer_url=email
LP //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=09999152301&refer_url=email

[V/A] "Super Funk 2" (BGP) CD $15.99
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Volume two of the funk series on BGP that's not tied to any
specific label (unlike their Stax of Funk and King Funk series).
And, like Vol. 1 (which was my fave funk reissue last year), it's
a fantastic chunk of rare 45s and a handful of amazing archival
tracks that, mysteriously, were never released until now. There
are, of course, James Brown imitators, both so good they could be
clones: Billy Garner (2 tracks!) and Freddy Wilson. There's some
slinky, Holland-Dozier-Holland style numbers (think Jean Knight or
Honey Cone) by Brenda George and Thelma Jones (her 'The House
that Jack Built was later blown up into a much bigger hit by Aretha,
but Jones' is much rawer and unstable). Kicking instrumentals,
like the deep bass and squealy electric guitar of Sidney
Pinchbeck, two tracks by Johnny Otis (also Shuggie's dad),
including an alternate funk version of the theme to "Jaws". From
the early JB's or Meters style of the late '60s going up to the
Commodores-ish back-snapping '70s funk of Willard Burton near
the end, any funk fan will quite thoroughly enjoy this. [RE]
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UNWOUND "Leaves Turn Inside You" (Kill Rock Stars) CD $14.99
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"Leaves Turn Inside You" reflects on the spastic days of Justin
Trosper's sonic assaults, Vern Rumsey's solid, cigarette-balancing
basslines, and Sara Lund's driving yet intricate drumming -- seen
through mature eyes. It's the direction the band has taken
since "Challenge for a Civilized Society", so there are no
surprises. The first album produced/recorded by the band itself,
it contains a few diversions: prog synths ('December' glides along
a gravelly road like Sonic Youth's quiet wall of sound meets Amon
Duul's space folk), layered space pop (driving 'We Invent You'),
and what seems like a tribute to Godspeed You Black Emperor
('Terminus', with all kinds of different instruments). Of course,
epic instrumentation and exploratory ambience are nothing new for
the group. Trosper says he's exploring '60s psychedelia, and, sure
enough, a swollen '70s haze rolls back to reveal a glistening lake
of Floydian trips, buoyed by his straining, indie-rock mumbles.
Even though chaotic dynamics have faded from Unwound's sound,
it still finds itself buried under soft, rich soil, seedlings of punk
poking up. The best example of "Leaves"' dynamics is 'October All
Over', where melodic, flexible guitar is lifted by a subtle bassline
and expertly accented drum thwacks and pounds, interwoven
by several tracks of airy effects and dark gauzy vocals. It's
their most intimate and organic recording -- even with all the
effects and loops. [LG]
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[V/A] "All Tomorrow's Parties 1.0" (ATP, UK) CD $16.99
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In this era of CD burners, Napster and MP3, a good compilation can
be worth its weight in gold. An expert putting together lost or
rare tracks leaves out the guesswork of making your own. "All
Tomorrow's Parties 1.0" comes direct from the recent UK festival
of the same name and, with its genre-spanning depth, is surely one
of the best compilations of 2001. A few highlights include Yo La
Tengo's sublime collaboration with Other Dimensions in Music/Test
members 'Our Way To Fall [Live]' which descends into a fluttering
free jazz coda. Tortoise's 'Cliff Dweller Society,' taken from a
long-deleted Duophonic 12", is considered by some to be their best
song, and some might be right as its epic length (15 minutes, 45
seconds) contains flapping brass strains, a smattering of shakers
and pulsed vibes. Autechre contribute an exclusive: 'All
Tomorrow's Linoleum,' a cluttered, tactual panorama of phaser fun.
Avant hip-hop appears in Mike Ladd, Cannibal Ox feat. El-P, and
Warp's Prefuse 73, in a piece that chops and filters soul, funk
and Anti-Pop's Beans in three magnificent minutes. The final
track, Russell Haswell's 'Maquette Augmentation' elicits the most
reaction from our shoppers -- a scraping, broken-stylus minimal
clickfest, the piece's detonating finish acts as a perfect ending
with ultimate finality, as if there's nothing left to hear. 14
tracks from 14 of the most determined artists of the '00s. [DD]
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BALTIC WHISPERINGS / MAGIC CARPATHIANS "Baltyckie Szepty" (Plus GSM, Poland) CD $13.99
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When last we left our heroes Magic Carpathians, yours truly was in
full-froth regarding their debut U.S. tour (including OM in- store),
as well as their two newest albums "Ethnocore 2" and "Denega",
shoo-ins for this year's top 10. Baltic Whisperings was a one-off
commission (sponsored by a local cellular phone concern!)
composed and recorded by Carpathian honchos Anna Nacher
and Marek Styczynski for a Save-the-Seals campaign in their native
Poland. Working in an evocative ambient manner, the two create
soundscapes utilizing samples of marine life, found voices, and
electronics melded with traditional instrumentation. The results
are nothing short of gorgeous, bringing to mind the lush
soundtrack work of Popol Vuh. And like Popol Vuh, Nacher and
Styczynski prove adept at reshaping their music; much of
"Baltyckie Szepty" served as source material for "Denega",
and yet the two albums sound entirely distinct. Bravo! [JG]
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[V/A] "Wizzz" (Musiques Hybrides, France) CD $17.99
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A compilation of French rock music from the '60s, a few steps
beyond yeh-yeh but one back from garage. A kicking selection, with
wailing guitars, sneering vocals, complex arrangements, rivalling
contemporaneous work from Dutronc and Polnareff. Tough girls,
sleazy men, all in French and taken from (not off of, though, the
sound is much better than that) the European 45 format -- many
groups here didn't release much beyond a 7" or two, usually with
very wacky and kitschy picture sleeves (pictured with the liner
notes). Notes all in Francais, and extensive -- but there is a
translation at musique-hybrides.com (which I couldn't find, but
probably isn't quite up yet). You would have to do some serious
Euro dusty-finger shopping to come up with even a fraction of
these titles on vinyl -- luckily they've done all that for you. An
excellent collection which shares all those rare finds that DJs
and collectors like to hoard for themselves. [RE]
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RYOJI IKEDA & CARSTEN NICOLAI "Cyclo" (Raster-Noton, Germany) CD  $15.99
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Earlier this year, Germany's Raster-Noton label released a
compilation, "New Forms," that presented pieces by glitch-based
electronica's most prominent figures. For many, the standout track
on "New Forms" was the first collaborative effort by Japanese
composer Ryoji Ikeda and Raster-Noton's founder, Carsten Nicolai.
Of all the producers currently shaping electronic music from sine
waves, signals and distorted pulses, Ikeda and Nicolai are wheat
separated from the chaff. That first track and the subsequent full-
length currently under consideration present a true synthesis of
their individual approaches. Ikeda's abillity to create three-
dimensional, shifting sound fields is complimented by Nicolai's
uncanny rhythmic sensibillity. The surprise element on "Cyclo,"
though, is noise. More so than on any of their previous releases,
Ikeda and Nicolai push the hearing threshold with distorted
textures, subsonic hums and pierciing whines. Listening to this CD
on headphones, you'll swear that the sounds are coming from inside
your brain. Guaranteed to clean out both your head and your
speakers. Also in high-tech packaging w/moving parts. [DHi]
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PHONOPHANI "Genetic Engineering" (Rune Grammofon, Norway) CD $15.99
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Espen Sommer Eide, also 1/2 of Alog, took his new name,
Phonophani, from the title of his first solo album. This new one
retains a lot of the ambient qualities of that one, but gives in
to a throbbing quality that sometimes forms into beats and
sometimes just keeps a low rumble. There's a pureness of tone to
Eide's programming, the sounds glassy and icy, a windyness and
distance like Sigur Ros, the depth of Vladislav Delay. Two tracks
have a deeply embedded vocoder, on others a stark synth shimmers
forth from dark backgrounds. It's kind of an extension
to '70s 'music of the spheres' recordings, only not so peaceful,
bounding into activity and then leveling out again. If it were a
color, it would be blue-grey. [RE]
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TORE ELGAROY "The Sound of the Sun" (Rune Grammofon, Norway) CD  $15.99
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Cynically, when I hear about another solo guitar record I often
mutter "nothing new there", but Elgaroy's first solo album throws
my bad attitude off the ledge into the slimy moat in which it
belongs. His work is simultaneously stormy and sensitive, with
fusion and noise and folk all rolled tightly together. The
feedback blows torrentially across the speakers, an array of
statics and fuzz, but it carries and cradles gentle notes and
implied melodies on plucked strings. Thudding, hardcore pedal
effects and metal stabs drop off into notes that stretch and arch
singly -- he even waxes string-bendingly Hawaiian at one point.
Imagine Jojo Hiroshige (Hijo Kaidan) collaborating with Fahey but
inhabiting the same body. If you like Keiji Haino, Fred Frith,
even *Hendrix*, etc. etc. you'll like this very much, as I did.
Surprise!! [RE]
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BUTCHIES "3" (Mr. Lady) CD $12.99
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Alison Martlew, Melissa York, and Keria Wilson have made a
thrashing, perfectly produced punk record that rocks like nobody's
business. The band so carefully maintains a balance between four-
track distortion and a Mr. Kleen floor wax sound. They certainly
maintain a powerful feminist politics of sound throughout the
record, though following Elizabeth Wright they might be better
understood as 'post-feminists' insofar as their lyrics take on a
broad range of concerns, from lost love on 'Not Like Mine' to
longing on the opening 'Anything Anthology'. The elegiac 'Mandy
(1985-2000)' stings with sadness and anger, York's ambidextrous
drumming working overtime. Wilson's guitar on "3" is outstanding,
a model for contemporary punk. Her sense of timing and the peaks
and valleys of energy she pulls out of that instrument make the
record wonderfully coherent. Let's hope we can hear more of The
Butchies on the forthcoming "Calling all Kings and Queens" Mr.
Lady label comp. [TH]
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STROKES "The Modern Age" (Rough Trade, UK) CD single $9.99
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Yep, a band that ate Television, Lou Reed and his old band, and a
little Violent Femmes and Richard Hell for breakfast only to spit
them all out again come mid-afternoon in the studio. Onto this
little disc. This 10-minute single is flying off our shelves, no
doubt bolstered by press in every major music magazine on
either side of the Atlantic. And it's catchy and perfect jittery,
swinging, grittily-recorded rock, deserving of every word of
praise even if it is knowingly derivative. How many bands get
this style this right, anyway? [RE]
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THINKING FELLERS UNION LOCAL 282 "Bob Dinners and Larry Noodles present Tubby Turdner's Celebrity Avalanche" (Communion)  CD/LP  $12.99/$8.99
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First album in five years, they really took their time and edited
this heavily, and it's got a dense directionless quality that
completely reflects that. Their Beefheartitude comes out strongly
here, manic energy channeled into a spaghetti tangle of sounds and
voice. Littered with beautifully scaled-back tiny tracks between
long ones, their music still takes song form, but a much less
cohesive one than on previous records. Meaning they don't return
to a hook or even worry about shaping them, yet the record is by
no means completely abstract. It draws from late '60s psychedelia
and not much else, their universe has no place for 'influences'
unless they're made-up ones. [RE]
CD //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=75971800532&refer_url=email
LP //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=09999154041&refer_url=email

[V/A] "House of Distraction" (Schematic) CD/LP $13.99/$12.99
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Schematic Records' most recent compilation includes most on their
roster (Takeshi Muto, Delarosa & Asora, Richard Devine, Phoenecia,
Push Button Objects) with a few not (Matmos, Jake Mandell, more).
Like the title, most tracks use house music quite sparingly in
their flitting mechanical exercises rather than the snapping hip-
hop elements that Schematic endorsed most heavily last year. These
instead have a robotic intensity: Matmos work like metallic windup
toys, 09 bring in twinkling electro keyboards for bits of
wistfulness cut off mid-thought, others assemble their prickling
static electricity into complex beats. Delarosa & Asora's track
goes closest to House and then veers away again. I'm trapped a
factory with a bunch of automatons making faulty circuit boards.
Help! (btw, this release does have some of the most absolutely
stunning artwork I've seen all year). [RE]
CD //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=65067000162&refer_url=email
LP //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=65067000161&refer_url=email

[V/A] "The Braindance Coincidence" (Rephlex, UK) CD $9.99
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Rephlex really should have put out this compilation about four or
five years ago, as it's a label sampler for a label whose releases
have slowed to a trickle. But this is Rephlex's 100th release,
it's a retrospective, and a cheap one. It is a good sampling of
their lighthearted style (Rephlex is half-helmed by Aphex Twin),
even amongst the more serious tracks. Even though they didn't
pick my favorites (like I have a vote), the ones they did flow as
making a patterned quilt does -- disparate elements that all go
together when placed in a structure. Most tracks are previously
released, and many of these get a deserved second life here even
if they were initially neglected. Though some of this is dated,
others stand the test of time so far like champs -- especially DMX
Krew's early '80s revival and the Gentle People's futuristic,
glaucomic lounge, miles apart from their contemporaries. [RE]
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OF MONTREAL "Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies" (Kindercore) CD  $12.99
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It's odd to have a record full of words that are best if you
ignore them. Of Montreal's newest is a concept album, an absurdist
poetry cycle set to some strongly bouncy musical currents. But the
words, to me, take the charm of '60s sugar psychedelia (like the
Blossom Toes) and let rats gnaw on it. Some tracks get downright
icky in their storytelling, even as they make them surreal.
Luckily not everything is enunciated perfectly clearly, and the
delightful harmonies cloud some of the cloying verse. (They also
take a few meaningless tangents, though a few, like the 'oh yes/oh
no' song [yes, those are the entire lyrics] have a Dadaist
draw.) "Coquelicot" is like a tribute to "Magical Mystery Tour"
gone awry, with clarinets and piano and multiplied vocals thick as
if poured from a jar, mannered and crowded and silly. [RE]
//perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=67581800642&refer_url=email

[VA] "Beatmania EP: The Sound of Tokyo" (Frontline, Japan) CD  $15.99
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/ILoveYou.rm
A new four-song EP of highly stylized Japanese pop produced
and curated by Konishi of Pizzicato Five. Though it's hard to say
exactly who else is involved (artist names are mostly written in
kanji) it seems that Konishi appears on at least three of these
tracks in some capacity along with the newest Readymade label
artist, Ms. Karia Nomoto, singing "I Love You". [TC]
//perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=454303400024&refer_url=email

[VA] "Barbara Bui Cafe" (Pschent) CD $17.99
The label that brought you the insanely popular "Hotel Costes"
compilations delivers a new collection that seeks to unite
haute couture, coffee culture, and contemporary downtempo
French house. DJ Emmanuel S. smooths together 14 tracks
(including cuts from Jazzanova, Kid Koala and Back 2 Earth)
on this disk created exclusively for the Barbara Bui fashion
cafe of Paris. [TC]
//perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=359697167702&refer_url=email


Restocks:

GORILLAZ "s/t" (Parlophone, UK) CD $24.99
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/gorilaz1.rm
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/gorilaz2.rm
Gorillaz, an imaginary (okay, animated) quartet of characters are
in fact is the front for the real-world humans of Dan the Automator
and Del tha Funkee Homosapien (also collectively Deltron 3030)
collaborating with Damon Albarn (Blur), with guestwork from Tina
Weymouth and Chris Frantz (Tom Tom Club), Miho Hatori (Cibo
Matto), and even Ibrahim Ferrer (Buena Vista Social Club). Typical
upbeat Britpop backed with some odder beats and moments,
samples of all sorts (squiggles of radio transmission, coughing,
etc) twisted into a rock/hip-hop hybrid (with more rock than
sample school). It's unusual, but also quite market-calculated.
It really hits stride halfway in, where the beats start to shudder
a little more and Albarn has stopped doing his over-the-top big
yearning urgent crooning in favor of dribbles of vocal lines as an
equal member rather than the dominant contributor. Del only MCs
on a few tracks, and these are lighthearted, old-skool. The last
song is a jam that figuratively trashes the place and sounds like
the Monks chewing crunchy a bowl full of Oasis and the Fall, china
and all. [RE]
//perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=72435320930&refer_url=email

BOMB THE BASS/LALI PUNA "Clear Cut" (Morr Music, Germany) CD single  $9.99
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/clearcut.rm
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/recut.rm
The brilliant new collaboration from Bomb the Bass and Lali Puna.
Could this be the same Bomb the Bass from year's past, the one
who recorded the rave anthem 'Beat Dis'? Yes; Lali Puna have
coerced Tim Simenon to return to the studio and record a gem of
a track, here with remixes by friends. The original track is a stunner,
with dark bubbling electronic beats building ever so slowly, then
hitting you with the dirtiest two-step beat you will ever hear,
while synths flow in and out of the mix wildly...then in come the
luscious vocals of Lali Puna's Valerie, both sweet and evil at the
same time. A remarkable track that will be on the tips of
everyone's tongues for years to come, only to be topped with
each remix featured herein. Beautiful! [JS]
//perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=09999152702&refer_url=email


Contributors this week: Tom Capodanno [TC], David Day [DD], Robin
Edgerton [RE], Lisa Garrett [LG], Jeff Gibson [JG], Duane Harriott
[DH], Tim Haslett [TH], Dan Hirsch [DHi].


The Big Picture:

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